Date issued: 27 November 2018
Colchester + Ipswich Museum Service (CIMS) has successfully completed a three-year innovative trainee programme with the help of funding from the Arts Council England.
The Training Museum project involved a wide range of elements from individual traineeships, volunteer roles, school activities and ongoing staff development training, as well as arts partnerships and fundraising projects.
Throughout the duration of the programme, running from 2015 – 2018, CIMS was able to showcase its extensive collections and historic venues, and pilot new ways of working – many of which have been adopted as a result of the programme.
Highlights included: 10 traineeships; a more inclusive volunteering programme; a small grants scheme that supported nine in-house projects, and the Transforming People to Transform Museums Conference.
As with all projects of this nature, recognising what was learnt was incredibly important not only internally but externally. CIMS has shared its successes through case studies with its peers and award nominations, and is using every opportunity to create a lasting legacy from the project.
Recently granted funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, CIMS is now trailblazing the Transforming People to Transform Museums project, in partnership with other heritage organisations across Suffolk. As part of this, 27 individuals will complete new traineeships over the next three years, all working towards a Level 3 Diploma in Cultural Heritage Studies and a future career in the industry.
Initiatives delivered through The Training Museum also helped CIMS become an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation from April 2018. This prestigious funding is now helping to support major exhibitions and community engagement in Colchester and Ipswich.
Cllr Tim Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture and Deputy Leader of Colchester Borough Council, said: “Projects such as The Training Museum are vital for the future of the Museum Service and sector as a whole.
“Preserving the country’s heritage for future generations is of the utmost importance and projects like this enable us to help create opportunities for interested individuals to pave out a career in the museum sector.”
Page last reviewed: 27 November 2018